HT Media Ltd said on Wednesday its board has approved a proposal to merge most of its radio business with those of Next Mediaworks Ltd, the owner of Radio One stations.
The merger will involve the radio businesses of HT Media, unit HT Music & Entertainment Co. Ltd and Next Radio Ltd, HT Media said in a stock-exchange filing. This will not include the company's radio stations in Hyderabad and Uttar Pradesh, HT Media said.
HT Media owns and operates radio stations under names Fever 104 and Radio Nasha while HT Music operates one radio station in Chennai. Next Radio operates FM radio stations under the brand Radio One.
The combined entity will benefit from operational synergy, HT Media said.
HT Media said revenue of the demerged radio business for the year through March was Rs 157.67 crore. That’s 11.35% of the company’s total revenue. HT Media also publishes Hindustan Times newspaper and operates a slew of digital properties.
Shares of HT Media slumped 15.3% to close at Rs 61.15 apiece on the BSE, compared with the 0.4% decline in the benchmark Sensex. Shares of Next Mediaworks gained 4.75% to end at Rs 16.55 apiece.
The transaction is subject to execution of definitive documents and board approvals.
